Charging machine



F.'H. H. Foss,

cnAnGING MACHINE.

Filed ont. 27, 1957 July 2, 1940.

` 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 u July 2, 1940. F, H. H7 Foss 2,206,177*v Vcm'mfsfme MACHINE Filed o'ct. 2v, 1957 2 sheets-sheet 2 haven/off FEED/NaN@ f7. H, f'oss,

Patented July 2o, 1940 UNITED l STATES PATENTN OFFICE l l 2,206,177 l l l I CHARGING MACHINE Ferdinand H. H. Foss, Chicago, Ill. Application October 27, 1937, Serial No. 171,293

8 Claims.

This inventionrelates to charging machines as used in connection with charging open-hearth furnaces and, more particularly, to" a means for driving the chargingarm of same.

Charging machines are now universally used for depositing the materials of the charge from the charging boxes into open-hearth` furnaces;

There are several types of these machines in use, but the ones most generally used are those of the low ground type. Such machines usually consist of a bottom truck mounted on flanged wheels which are adapted `to travel on a very wide gauge track laid in front of the charging sides of furnaces. These trucks carry a charging carriage which is adapted to move on a track carried by the frame of the truck at right angles to the direction of motion thereof; that is, toward and away from the furnaces. This charging carriage carries a long heavy charging arm or ram which extends toward the furnaces and is shaped at its outer end to lit into a socket carried by the charging boxes. The charging boxes which carry the solid material tobe charged usually delivered by and rest on buggies which are adapted to run on a narrow gauge track between the charging machine and the furnaces and along the line thereof.

` In operation, the truck carrying the charging machine is moved so thatlthe charging arm is directly opposite the charging box to oe emptied, and the carriage is then moved forward to bring into position the end of the charging bar, which is then dropped into a socket on the charging box and locked therein. The charging arm is `assumed to be opposite the furnace to be charged, and is then raised, together with the charging box, and by a forward motion of the carriage, the charging box and the end of the charging bar are passed into the furnace where, by rotating the charging arm, the box is turned upside down and its contents deposited therein. By reversing these motions, the box is then placed `upon a buggy and the next box emptied, as described, until the furnace is fully charged.

Such machines have proven very practical in use and have contributed much tothe success of the open-hearth method, but they require con-` siderable maintenance due to their construction and the rough treatment that they usually receive in operation, especially the charging arms of the machines. fact that when the charging arm is lowered for engagement with the socket `o`f the charging boxes,` or when the charging boxes are placedin the furnaces, the charging armis forced down with such a tremendous force into the socket or against the top of the furnace door as to result in a tremendous shock to the entire charging machine,` and often times breakage of the charg- This is primarily due to the v (Cl. (Mo-29) o o o ing arm, which is, of course,` costly and inconvenient. j

It is one of the objects of this invention to eliminate the trouble as heretofore described.

It is another object to provide an improved means for driving the arm of a charging machine which will allow the driving means to continue to move in a forward `direction in case the charging arm is arrested in its downward movement; Various other objects and advantages of my invention will more fully appear during the course of the following specification and will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims. In the accompanying drawings I` have shown, for the purpose of illustration, one embodiment which my invention may assume in practice.

In these drawings: l Figure 1 is a side elevation ofa charging machine in which my invention is incorporated; Figure 2 is a plan of the same machine; Figure 3 is an end view of the improved ratchet gear mechanism;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on line IV-IV of Figure 3; and,

Figure 5 is a sectional View taken on line V-V of Figure 4. l Y

It is generally known how charging machines operate, but it is thought advisable to briefly describe the operation of a `particular type of charging machine `with `which my invention may be incorporated. `This machine has a hoisting motor 2 ,adapted to drive a set of gears in the transmisison 3 positioned on one side of the charging carriage,`as shown in Figure 2. Connectedto the transmission is the driven shaft 4 which drives the gear 5 located inthe transmission housing 6, which is located substantially in the center of the carriage which, in turn, drives a larger gear 'I `located and journaled therein. Connected tothe shaft of the gear I and driven thereby arei the bell-cranks 8 located on each side thereof which are connected to the yokeend 9 of the charging arm I0 by means of the links II. The charging arm is pivotally connected to yoke portion I2 of the charging carriage I3 in order to raise and lower the arm and carrieson its outer end a connecting portion I4 which is;` adapted to engage a socket portion I5 in one of `a series of charging boxes I6. `According `to the` present invention, there is provided `an intermediate ratchet gear mechanism I'l which is preferably mounted in the gear train of the transmission 3` on the end of the l shaft 4. This ratchet gear mechanism includes `a ring gear` I8 having conventional gear teeth I9 on the periphery thereof and a radially extending inner web portion with the radial teeth 2 I carriedthereby and on one side thereof. `Thereis mounted inside the ring gear on one side of the web portion a disk 22 having a liner 23, preferably made of bronze metal arranged around the periphery thereof, which is adapted to'lie next to the inside surface of the ring gear. Positioned on the opposite side of the web portion there is a second disk member 24 having a similar liner 25 arranged around the periphery thereof and a plurality of annularly positioned spaced stud bolts 26 carried thereby and extend- 1 ing therefrom toward and through the disk 422. The disk 22 has provided on its inner face, radial teeth 2l similar to the teeth 2l on Vthe web portion of the gear but oppositely disposed and which are adapted to cooperate therewith. The

disk 22 also has a plurality of annularly po-v sitioned spaced housing portions 28 which are adapted to house the coil lsprings 29; The stud bolts 26 of the second disk 24 are `adapted -to extend through the housings of the first disk 22 into engagement with the coil springs 29 to hold the two disks and the teeth of the web of the gear and disk in yieldable engagement. The stud bolts 2B carry washers 3U and nuts 3l for the compression adjustment of the coil springs 29. The disk 22 is keyed to the second disk by means of a key 32 and has a sliding fit therewith, and the second disk 22, in turn, Yis securely keyed vto the main shaft 4 by means of keys 433. j

The radial teeth of both the web portion 2d of the ring gear and of the -disk 22 are of a distinctive shape, having surfaces '34, which are preferably perpendicular to the plane of the disk, and the web of the gear, top-,face portions 35 which are in a plane parallel to thedisk and web, and inclined rear surfaces 36. j

To fully understand the function of the ratchet gear mechanism' of `my invention, the charging arm is operated in the following manner:

rIhe hoisting motor 2 is energized, which, through the action of the gear train in the transmission tends to rotate the ring gear i8 of the ratchet mechanism l1. The inclinedsurfaces 26 of the teeth 2i on the web portion of the driven ring gear i8, th-rough the action of the springs 23, engage with the similar surfaces on the teeth 21 of the disk 22 turning the shaft 4 which, through the mechanism as heretofore described, drives the charging arm IQ in the lowering direction. When direction of motor rotation is reversed surfaces 3l! of ring gear i8 engage with similar surfaces on teeth '21 of the disk 2,2 turning shaft 4 which, through the mechanism as heretofore described, positively drives the charging arm lll in the lhoisting direction. vAfter the end of the charging arm rises to the proper position and reaches the end of its upward travel above the box It to be charged, the direction ofhoistmotor rotation is reversed and drives thearm downward until the shaped outer end of thearm is brought into engagement with the socket I5 of the charg-` the gear tend to slip over the inclined surfaces of the teeth on the disk. This slipping action, of course, is governed by the size and strength of the coil springs 29. f

It is important that these coil springs 29 have sumcient strength to maintain the inclined teeth surfaces 36 in engagement with each other fiprevent shock, damage and breakage to the parts of vthe `charging machine.

As a result of this invention, it will be noted that when the rtorque of a hoisting motor driving the arm downward exceeds the designated value vof the force of the springs, the force urging the inclined surfaces to slide over each other then exceeds the compression force of the springs to `keep `the inclined surfaces 35 fof the teeth in engagement and the springs undergo-such compression that disks moveaway from each other and the inclined teeth surfaces of the web of the ring gear and the disk are no longer maintained in engagement, and the radial teeth of the driven ring gear merely slide or ratchet over the corresponding lteeth of the disk without engaging or moi-'- ing the latter and, consequently, withoutfurther driving action being vexerted to the shaft 4 and charging arm.

While have, .in this application, specifically shown and described .an embodiment of rmy invention, it will be'understood that this is merely for lthe purpose of illustration and description, and that various other forms may be devised within the scope of ymy invention, yas defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The combination with a driven shaft, of a driving ring gear having a radially `extending inner web portion, a series of luniformly spaced teeth arranged around .one .side .of said .web portion, a disk member `positioned on the same side of said web portion of said gear, said disk having a series k.of similarly shaped teeth on the inner opposed surface thereof which `are adapted to cooperate with the rteeth on said webl portion, a

second disk positioned on the opposite side of said web portion, said second disk being keyed to said shaft, a plurality of annular positioned housing `portions carried by said first named disk, a coil spring positioned in each of said housings, and a similar number of stud bolts carried by said second named disk memberand extending therethrough, said springs in said housings to hold sai'd .disks together in yieldable engagement with said web portion of said ring gear, said driven ring gear through the action of the teeth rthereon adapted to drive said shaft positively in `one direction when the ring gear is driven in one direction and yieldably inthe opposite direction when the ring gear is driven in .the opposite direction.

2. The .combination with a driven shaft, of` a driving ring gear having a radially yextending inner web portion, Va series of uniformly spaced teeth carried by said web portion, shaft driving means carried by and connected to said shaft f which is adapted to cooperate with the web portion of said ring gear, means for holding said lshaft driving means .and said web portion yieldably in engagement with each other, and means carried by said shaft driving means with which the teeth on said web portion ,are adapted to cooperate so as to drive said driving meansV together with the shaft to which it is connected positively in one direction when the ring gear is driven in one direction and yieldably in the opposite directionwhen the `ring gear is drivenin the opposite direction.

3. The combination with a driven shaft, of a driving ring gear having `an inwardly extending iiange portion, an annularly arranged row of teeth carried by said flange portion, `an annular` teeth on the flange portion of said ring gear are adapted to cooperate so as to drive the disk together with the shaft to which it is1 connected positively in one direction when the ring gear is driven in one direction and yieldably in the opposite direction when the ring gear is driven in` the opposite direction.

4. In a charging machine having a charging arm and a gear train for driving said arm, a

ratchet gear mechanism included in said gear train, said mechanism including, in combination,

a driven ring gear having a radially extending inner web portion arranged therearound, a plurality of teeth arranged on at least one side of i said web portion, a disk member positioned inside of said ring gear on one side of said web portion having a similar number of teeth on the inner `surface thereof which are adapted to cooperate with the teeth on said web portion, a second disk member positioned inside of said ring gear on'the opposite side of said web portion, and means for yieldably connecting said disks together in engagement with said web portion so that the teeth thereon are normally engaged with the teeth on said first mentioned disk, said driven ring gear through the action of said teeth thereon adapted to drive the first mentioned disk and the second mentioned disk together with the shaft to which the latter is connected so that said charging arm is moved positively in its upward movement when the ring gear is driven in one direction and which will drive the same so' that the charging arm is moved yieldably in its downward movement when the ring gear is driven in the opposite direction.

5. In a charging machine having a charging arm, a gear train and a shaft for driving said arm,va ratchet gear mechanism mounted adjacent one end of said shaft in said gear train, said mechanism including, in combination, a driven ring gear having a radially extending inner web portion, aseries of teeth arranged around one side of said web portion, a disk member positioned on the same side of said web portion of said ring gear, said disk having a series of similarly shaped teeth arranged on the inner opposed surface thereof which are adapted to cooperate with the teeth on said web in yieldable engagement with each other, said i driven ring gear through the action of said teeth thereon adapted to drive the iirst mentioned disk and the second mentioned disk together with the shaft to which therlatter is connected so that `the charging arm is moved positively` in its upward movement when the ring gear is driven in one direction and yieldably in its downward movement when the ring gear is driven in the opposite direction. i

6. The combination with a driven shaft, of a driving ring gear having a radially extending inner web portion, a series of teeth arranged on one side of said web portion, a disk member positioned on the same side of said web portion of said gear, said disk having a series of similarly shaped teeth arranged on the inner surface thereof which are adapted to cooperate with the teeth of said web portion, a second disk positioned on the opposite side of said web portion of said gear, said second disk being keyed to said shaft, and means for holding the disks together and in yieldable engagement with said web portion so that the teeth thereon are rio-rmally engaged with the teeth on said irst mentioned disk, said driven ring gear through the action of said teeth thereon adapted to drive the first mentioned disk and the second mentioned disk together with the shaft to which the latter is connected positively one direc-- tion when the ring gear is driven in one direction and yieldably in the opposite direction when the ring gear is driven in the opposite direction.

7. The combination with a driven shaft, of a driving ring gear having a radially extending inner web portion, a series of teeth arranged around one side of said web portion, a `disk member connected to said shaft,"a series of similarly shaped teeth arranged around the inner opposed surface of said disk member, and means for holding the disk in yieldable engagement with said web portion so that the teeth thereon are normally engaged With the teeth on said disk member, said driven ring gear through the action of said teethadapted to drive the disk together with the shaft to which it is connected positively in one direction when the ring gear is driven in one ,direction and yieldably in the opposite direction when the ring gear is driven in the opposite direction.

8. In a charging machine having a charging arm, a gear train and shaft for driving said arm, a ratchet gear mechanism arranged in said gear train, said mechanism including, in combination, a driven` ring gear having a radially extending inner web portion, a series of teeth arranged around at least o-ne side of said web portion, a driven disk member positioned inside of said ring gear on'one side of said web portion having a` series of teeth arranged around (TlI one surface thereof which are adapted to cosecond disk portion positioned inside of said ring gear on the opposite side of said web and which is securely attached to said shaft, and means for yieldably connecting said disks together com prising a plurality of projecting stud bolts carried by one of said disks and annularly positioned therearound, each of said bolts adapted to extend through and cooperate with a coil spring positioned` in a plurality of housings carried by the other of said disk members which are annularly positioned therearound to hold said disks 4in normally yieldable engagement with each other and with the web portion of the ring gear, Said ring gear through the action of said teeth adapted to drive both of said disk portions together with said shaft positively in one directionwhen the ring gear is driven in one direction and yieldably in the opposite direction when the ring gear is driven in the opposite direction.

FERDINAND I-I. I-I. FOSS. 

